From the beginning of his time with Moody’s Analytics, Shakalya Nag, CTP, wanted to venture into the treasury domain. Understanding the systems and processes was of great interest to him. Then he started working on RFPs for major MNC banks in their treasury domain, and he’s has been working on the sales side of treasury operations and fund compliance ever since. 

As delivery lead … 

In Nag’s day-to-day role as delivery lead, he handles liquidity management and is responsible for understanding the company’s daily borrowing needs. He also provides on-demand RFPs for the sales team, and manages compliance and cross-border transactions.  

Domain knowledge and analytical skills are the skills Nag credits for the trajectory of his career in treasury. “I’m dealing with products such as FX hedge, measuring cash/commodity exposure, and dealing with repos in terms of compliance reporting and regulations, so it’s imperative to understand the underlying risks and returns for each product. That understanding has helped me advance in treasury,” said Nag.  

Statistical tools such as VBA and Python, and API-based on JAVA platforms are being used extensively in the industry to determine bond valuations and yield curve shifts are used extensively, according to Nag. “A sound knowledge of these tools has definitely helped me in treasury,” he said.  

Knowledge sharing is critical

Due to regulations and guidelines that make it more difficult, Nag finds knowledge sharing to be a bit of challenge in treasury. He would love to see AFP spearhead a new forum to meet this challenge.  

“I think that AFP, as a benchmark organization in treasury management, could have alumni chapters across the globe that meet monthly to discuss new technologies, regulations and systems,” said Nag. “That would be incredibly helpful.”

Future skills and hopes

Understanding the treasury management system, having a working knowledge of the variations across different legislative bodies, and managing treasury returns in a more prudent manner are Nag’s top three in terms of skills he plans to add in the next couple of years. As for his plans for his future in treasury, he would like to venture into the operations side of things.  

“I would like to gain experience in trading short-term treasury products such as T-Bills, money market funds, etc.,” said Nag. He also believes that gaining a deeper understanding of the TMS/ERP systems that are incorporated into the cloud will help him grow even further.  

The CTP is a global credential

Nag researched various treasury certifications, such as the IIBF and TEA, but he realized that getting a global credential in these courses wasn’t possible. “AFP’s CTP is a benchmark in the industry,” he said.  

The CTP credential is a value-add to his résumé and will help distinguish him from other candidates when competing for future opportunities, according to Nag. “I’m hoping to handle larger clientele and challenging portfolios in the future.”  

Would he recommend the CTP to others? “Yes. I have gained a lot of useful insights from the curriculum and have been able to expand my knowledge on treasury products.” Nag said that the case studies and scenario-based learning have provided a deep dive into different treasury functions such as working capital management, inventory turnover, balance sheet adjustments and more, which he believes is a unique approach to learning about treasury. “The CTP helps an individual to stand out among their peers, and it provides meaningful growth.”  

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